By The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane MLC.
I acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues Victor Dominello, and former members the Hon Jim Longley and a dear friend the Hon Marie Ficarra as well as the many local government colleagues.
Most importantly, I acknowledge each and every one of you who has come not only to give generously but for Standing up, for speaking out and for being proactive in preventing violence against women.
One should not shy away from describing Domestic violence for what it is. It is no less than household terror.
For thousands of Australian women who are regularly assaulted, it is a life of continuous terror.
Worse still, as Commissioner Scipione says, this year alone in NSW, 27 women have died as a result of domestic violence.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not only horrifying but an unacceptable statistic.
The question Scipioni asks: Where will it end?"
Well the answer is that it unfortunately won’t end, until we as a society collectively end it.
Education, advocacy and public awareness is crucial to ending the violence.
Tackling domestic violence should be a top priority for all of us and it must be addressed in a way that engages and brings the whole community with us.
Everybody deserves to feel safe and secure in their own home and those who commit domestic violence must be held to account for their actions.
Domestic violence does not discriminate and it impacts on all parts of our multicultural society.
As we all know, it is often hidden, and victims, for fear for their safety and that of their children, do not speak out.
It is therefore imperative that we speak out and change attitudes and educate people about this heinous crime that ravages all communities, regardless of socio-economic backgrounds.
Tonight, you will hear from three outstanding gentlemen, Newcastle Knight's, Clint Newton, Australian representative and Cronulla Shark, Luke Lewis, and Penrith Panther's, Josh Mansour, who are football leaders on the field and leaders off the field in their campaign to stop violence against women.
White Ribbon has played an integral role in raising community awareness on this issue and it is changing attitudes.
But what make white Ribbon a successful Organisation are those men and women who carry the flag ….. And in this instance here tonight it’s Vince De Luca.
By way of recognition and encouragement people like Vince, I would like him to come up to present him with this certificate of recognition for his commitment to fighting violence against women.
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